Wounded student thanks doctors, ‘all the love’ sent
“I’d just like to say that I am so grateful to be here.” Maddy Wilford Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student
Maddy Wilford, a student shot multiple times in the bloody rampage at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, said Monday that she wouldn’t have survived without “amazing doctors” and the love from her community.
“I’m Madeleine Wilford,” she said, fighting back tears at a news conference at Broward Health North Medical Center. “I’d just like to say that I am so grateful to be here. And it wouldn’t be possible without the doctors and first responders and ... all the love that everyone sent.”
Maddy, 17, said she was encouraged by positive social media posts in the days since the shooting Feb. 14 that killed 17 of the Parkland school’s students and staff. She said she is making a full recovery.
“All the love that’s been passed around, I definitely wouldn’t be here without it,” Wilford said. “I want to send my appreciation and love out to all of you.”
Lt. Laz Ojeda of the Coral Springs Fire Department said first responders found Maddy while clearing classrooms after the attack.
“At first, I thought Maddy was dead,” Ojeda said.
He said an officer shook her, and Maddy showed signs of life. A Broward County sheriff ’s deputy put a “chest seal” on Maddy to combat her bleeding, and she was rushed to Broward Health North, Ojeda said.
Trauma surgeon Igor Nichiporenko said large-caliber bullets tore through her chest and abdomen, requiring three surgeries. Maddy was released from the hospital Thursday.
“She’s very lucky — very, very lucky,” Nichiporenko said.
Maddy’s father caller her survival a “miracle.”
“I am very grateful to be sitting next to my daughter, alive and well today,” he said through tears.
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump visited Maddy and her family in her hospital room days after the attack. A photo from the visit was used by the Trump re-election campaign in an email that included a link for donations.